IT'S the morning after the weekend before and Michael Owen is in cautiously optimistic mood.

IT'S the morning after the weekend before and Michael Owen is in cautiously optimistic mood.

Euphoria greeted his double strike at Goodison on Saturday, but the Liverpool striker says there is much more to be done if the Reds are to fulfil their potential this season.

Buoyed by the attacking tactics employed in the 3-0 victory, the Reds hitman says his frustrating start is emphatically over.

But he's prepared to reserve judge-ment on how significant Saturday's win was for the rest of the campaign until more teams are put to the sword on home turf.

"You have to remember I hadn't had a single chance in the first three games of the season," said Owen.

"But I knew if I kept plugging away and believed in my team-mates a chance would come eventually and I'd score it.

"It was getting a bit frustrating in the first few games, I must admit.

"I want to be the man who scores goals for Liverpool so if I'm not getting chances you have to acknowledge there's got to be a problem with how we're playing. When you are a striker at this club you should be getting plenty of opportunities.

"We also had a very attacking team against Tottenham - the same team as against Everton in fact - but we only created one or two chances in that match, and I'm not even sure if they were really good opportunities.

"We certainly didn't create enough at home against the kind of team which, with all due respect to them, is not likely to be in the top four. In those home games we need to be having about 20 chances and shots on target, in my view.

"Against Everton it was more like the old Liverpool way where I had plenty of chances and was able to stick two of them away."

Naturally, Owen is delighted with the new look Reds' midfield which has sacrificed a certain rigidity for more creative players and a flexible system.

But he has warned it will be tougher to create the same amount of chances when teams come to Anfield.

"At the moment playing away from home suits us," says Owen. "It's better to be away when you're not creating chances because there's not as much pressure on you.

"At the same time, home teams have to come at us and we get more space.

"We saw against Spurs last week how they played five across the back with two centres-halves who were on my back all through the game.

"Even if I beat one man there's another one covering to stop me. We have to find the key to unlocking those teams at Anfield.

"We've started to play a more attacking line-up now and it's worked on Saturday. The manager picked a very attacking side to go to Goodison and play an Everton team on such a high.

"When I saw the team, I fancied my chances of getting a lot more opportunities. I know we've got the players to deliver the service.

"I always feel we have a better chance of winning the derby at Goodison anyway. They have to come out and attack us because they're in front of their own fans, but when they're at Anfield they tend to throw 11 men behind the ball and they're happy with a 0-0.

"That's what's happened a lot at Anfield because they're playing for a point."

On a personal level, Owen has now scored four derby goals, including a strike on his last three Goodison visits.

There's nothing quite like a goal against his favourite rivals.

"It was only a couple of years ago everyone was saying how I'd never scored in a derby," Owen recalled.

"Now I've managed to get a few at Goodison although strangely enough I've never got one at Anfield, so I hope I'll be putting that right.

"It was early days in the season, but at a club like ours it doesn't take long for pressure to mount if you don't record your first victory.

"There was no better place to turn things around then Goodison. Often it takes a game like this to kick-start the season. That convincing win will help us.

"It's just a shame we're now going on international duty because we're looking forward to Blackburn.

"It can work in your favour too, though. There's been a lot of pressure on us here and sometimes it's good to get a break from that."

Just as importantly, if afternoons like Saturday are repeated, Liverpool fans will enjoy watching it just as much.